


Ten Years, Ten Realities

by Mattecat



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Gen, Ninjago 10th Anniversary, Ninjago Tenth Anniversary, hi did you know I'm a morro kinnie? you do now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:06:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28751136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mattecat/pseuds/Mattecat
Summary: Ten different realities featuring Morro.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Ten Years, Ten Realities

**Author's Note:**

> what's UP I'm posting this here bc I need it to go up Right Now Immediately and the other site I post my work on needs to approve every piece that goes up which can take up to a day so. yeah.
> 
> anyway, happy birthday lego ninjago, you're ten years old, thank you for being the puppetmaster. I wrote this piece about a bunch of morro AUs I kin, some made by me, two made by others, and then canon, and I had fun with it.

**1\. Coinverse  
**

_Cyrus Borg takes in Morro after Lloyd resurrects him._

The first few family photos Cyrus insisted on were awkward; Pixal didn't have her own body, and it was difficult to capture her on screens or holograms, and Morro was still adjusting to the idea that he even had a family. He forced a smile and retreated to his room for the rest of the day.

After Pixal rebuilt herself and took on the mantle of Samurai X, the photos were better. Morro had bonded more with her, and calling Cyrus "Dad" didn't feel as awkward to him as it once did. He and Pixal stood on either side of their father and they all smiled for the camera.

"These are excellent!" Cyrus said when he saw the pictures. "You both look wonderful! Did you want any copies for yourselves?"

"I've already downloaded them," Pixal said with a smile. "Morro, I can send you the file, if you want."

"What?" Morro said, moments before his phone buzzed.

Cyrus laughed. "Well, I suppose if you have that, you can print out copies of your own, so I'll just get a few for myself.

Morro took out his phone and looked through the files Pixal sent. His family. The thought has mostly stopped making him feel nauseous, but it was still a lot to adjust to. Skylor told him family was who you chose it to be, but Morro still isn't used to making choices for himself.

He has one picture from before he died. An old black-and-white photo of him sitting with Wu. He isn't smiling in it, but Wu is. Wu told him he smiled a lot as a child, but Morro barely remembered it.

It was much different than the picture on his screen, where he had a small, but genuine smile. Pixal, as usual, had a photo-perfect face, having turned her head in just the right way that the flash wouldn't reflect oddly off her metal skin. Cyrus had blinked during the picture he looked at now, but his smile was big enough to make up for it.

"Are you alright, Morro?"

Morro looked up. "Yeah, Dad," he said. "Where are we going now?"

"Father has a dinner reservation for the three of us," Pixal said. "We were going to leave right away."

"Dinner?" Morro picked at the collar of his turtleneck. "I'm not really dressed for someplace fancy…"

"Don't worry about it," Cyrus said. "I wanted you to be yourself for the photo, and you're dressed fine. Are you ready?"

Morro managed another smile. "Alright," he said. "I'm ready."

* * *

**2\. Angels & Demons**

_Morro, a half-angel, falls to Hell when demons attack Heaven._

Morro huddled in the dirty cave, his wings wrapped tight around himself and his hand clamped over his mouth, trying not to make a sound. He heard the demon move closer. Morro shuddered. This was it, he thought. He was going to die, and the Elemental Power of Wind that his angel mother had passed down to him would be lost forever. Would she mourn him? Or had she already moved on, having forgotten her son now that he had fallen to Hell?

A hand moved into view in front of the cave's entrance. Glowing red eyes stared at him. Morro sobbed and shrank in on himself.

"Are you human?"

The question caught him off guard. "Do I–do I look human?!" he snapped.

"Yeah," the demon said, "kind of."

Morro sniffed and pressed himself against the wall. "I'm half-human," he mumbled. "Just… just half."

The demon nodded and moved closer. This close, Morro could see that he was about the same size as him–had to be, to fit in the cave. He had stringy brown hair that went down to his chin and a toothy smile. "Humans get hungry," he said. "Are you hungry?"

"Are you?" Morro fired back.

The demon laughed. "Demons don't get hungry," he said. "Don't think angels do, either. But you do, right? There's not a lot of food down here."

Morro hadn't eaten since he fell from Heaven. It was a miracle he had found water. He said nothing.

The demon reached out a clawed hand. Morro flinched, but all the demon did was pat his head. "Wait here," he said. "I'll catch you something."

Catch? Morro opened his mouth, but the demon was already backing out of the cave and scurrying away. Morro stared at where he was, too scared to move. His stomach growled.

He met a demon, and he wasn't dead. He had been in Hell for days, and he wasn't dead. Maybe he'd find a way home, if there was any Heaven left to go back to.

When the demon came back with a small, dead animal and a name, Morro accepted both and gave his own name in return.

* * *

**3\. Illusionist Ronin**

_Ronin is the Master of Illusion who trained under Wu shortly before Morro was taken in. AU created by my bro, tumblr user noblegasxenon.  
_

"Ronin?"

His brother was taller now, and older; Ronin had had the chance to grow up while Morro stayed the same age he died at. A grin spread across his borrowed face. "Ronin," he said again, "it's me!"

Ronin adjusted his grip on his sword. "Lloyd?"

Oh, right. "No," Morro said, and he shoved down Lloyd's panicked mind and altered his body. Blonde hair turned to black, his skin gained a green-gray hue. "It's me! Morro!"

Ronin's eyes widened. He dropped the sword and crossed the short distance between them while Lloyd's other friends stared in confusion. Morro accepted the hug, pressing his face into Ronin's gi.

"Morro," Ronin said, his voice shaking. "Is it really you?"

"I promised I'd come back," Morro said. "I keep my promises. Always. We're brothers, remember?"

"Uh," someone said, "Ronin, what's going on?"

Morro flinched and pulled away. "Lloyd didn't know who I was," he said.

Ronin took a step closer. "Is he alright?"

The question infuriates him. "Did you tell them anything?" Morro snapped. "That Master–that Wu had _two_ students? Or did you just want to forget about me?"

"No, Morro, I'd never want to forget you!"

"I was in the Cursed Realm for years!" Morro grits his teeth hard enough to hurt and summons his elemental power, the wind picking up around them. "I never forgot you! I thought you would welcome me!"

"I want to!" Ronin said. "But you can't hurt Lloyd, alright? He's just a kid."

The wind howls–

"So was I!"

–and Morro charges forward, knocking Ronin down and leaving him behind to where he knows Wu is.

* * *

**4\. Bucket List**

_Takes place after the events of the fic._

"Are you sure you're sixteen?" Kai said, holding the remote up over Morro's head. "'Cause you act like you're, like, twelve."

Morro bristled. "Give it back!"

"No way! I don't want to watch your dumb horror movies! It's my turn!"

Morro jumped for the remote and grabbed Kai's arm, dangling from it. Ghosts were mostly weightless, but even so, Kai stumbled backwards, hit the bed, and fell backwards onto the blankets.

Morro yanked the remote out of Kai's hand. "Hey, hey!" Kai shouted, reaching for the ghost. Morro stuck his tongue out and used his mastery of wind to hover in the far corner of the room. "That's cheating!"

"You said there weren't any rules anymore!"

Kai groaned. "That wasn't about TV! C'mon, we watched your stuff all day yesterday! Be fair!"

Morro snorted. "Why should I?" he said. "No one's ever been fair to me."

"Ah," Kai said. "This is a _thing,_ isn't it?"

Morro raised an eyebrow. "A what?"

"You're dealing with a bucketload of trauma, and sometimes, when you're working through it, what should be something you shrug off or let go gets blown up into a big-ass _thing._ " Kai cracked a smile. "Morro, I promise you, just because things kinda sucked for you before doesn't mean people are gonna keep being unfair forever. Sometimes, you gotta take the first step."

"And what?" Morro snapped. "Be fair to the people who treated me awfully?"

"No, but you could at least be fair to the dude who let you hang out in his body for a week!" Kai laughed. "This isn't a big thing, Morro, it's just my turn for the TV. You gonna give me the remote or not?"

Morro considered this for a moment, then tossed the remote back to Kai and dropped down onto the bed. "Fine," he muttered. "Just… don't watch anything weird."

Kai cracked up at that. "Alright, alright. C'mon, I'll try to find something you like."

* * *

**5\. Drowned Sailor**

_Ronin, a merman, discovers Morro, the ghost of a drowned sailor, guarding a sunken treasure in an old pirate ship._

"This is where my body is," Morro announced to the merman, hovering in the water just above the locked trapdoor. "I was locked in here for stealing, and when the ship sank no one bothered to let me out."

His ghostly form glowed green, the only light this deep in the ocean. Ronin nodded and swam closer, examining the lock. "I bet I could get this open," he said, picking at it with one clawed hand. "Y'know, if it matters."

Morro shook his head. "Why would it matter?" he said. "I'm already dead. It's not like bringing my gross skeleton corpse to the surface would do anything for _me._ "

"Ha! Hope what you stole was worth it."

"It wasn't," Morro said.

He turned away and swam out of the room. Ronin followed, moving through the water effortlessly. He was ahead of Morro in an instant. Morro stopped swimming and glared at him. "So?" he snapped. "Are you gonna make fun of me?"

"Nah, kid," Ronin said. "I'm in the same school."

"What?"

Ronin's smile slipped off his face. "I got into some trouble," he said, "and if I don't fix it, somehow, I'll be stuck serving under the Preeminent forever."

Morro tilted his head. "The Preeminent?"

"Y'know, lives at the bottom of the ocean, condemns people to die and serve her forever." Ronin laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound. "And y'know what? I don't think I'm ever gonna fix it. The dumb bet I made as a kid is gonna haunt me forever. What do humans say? I'm in the same boat."

Morro thought about the pendant he picked out of the treasure, the only thing he had managed to hide on himself when he was caught, and he thought about screaming for help as the water rose around him. "I guess so," he said. "Maybe I can join you."

Ronin made a harsh noise. "Excuse me?"

"Look at me!" Morro flung his arms out. "I'm stuck in this awful ship I died in, forever! If you have to go work for the Preeminent when you die, I want to go with you. You're my friend, Ronin."

He didn't respond, just hovered there in the faint green light. Morro grit his teeth. "Whatever," he muttered. "I don't care if I'm alone, anyway."

"Hey," Ronin said. "You're my friend too, kid."

Morro stared at him with his big, toothy grin, and managed a smile of his own.

* * *

**6\. Cloud Kingdom**

_Instead of being found by Wu, Morro is picked up by a Cloud Kingdom monk and raised there._

From what he'd been told, one of the monks had found him during an unauthorized trip to Ninjago. He was half frozen to death, lying motionless in the snow, and the monk could not leave him there. He was brought back to the Cloud Kingdom to save his life, and the monk who rescued him was subsequently exiled.

Morro, however, stayed.

He didn't remember much of the early days. The reason given for keeping him was that he was young, barely six years old, and there was no point in sending him back to the mountain to die. He was taken in by one of the families, given food and new clothes, and once recovered, he was sent to school with the rest of the children, where he learned to read and write.

"The Cloud Kingdom determines the fate of Ninjago," the teachers said. "We are the ones who write the prophecies, who control the outcome of the world."

Morro was enamored by this concept. They could choose fate! he thought in delight. They could give everyone a happy story, could make Ninjago into a paradise! He knew, on some level, that it wouldn't be that simple, but wasn't it a worthy goal to shoot for? He studied hard alongside his adopted brother, and both he and Fenwick were chosen to join the ranks of the monks.

Fenwick laughed when Morro told him his ideas. "We can't make everyone happy," he said. "We just have to make sure people get what they deserve."

Morro frowned at that, but kept his head down and wrote.

The Master Writer was getting old. There were whispers of who would be chosen to succeed her. Not Morro, they whispered, not the brat from Ninjago. Why did he even think he could be a monk? In the end, he would be loyal to his home realm, not the Cloud Kingdom. They should have sent him away with the one who rescued him.

Morro grit his teeth and kept writing.

It soon became obvious that he would not be chosen. Nothing he did would change that; he could do everything they ever asked of him, and he would never change his image. They would only choose him as Master Writer if there was no one else to choose.

Well, Morro thought, watching his brother be praised, perhaps he could whittle down the competition.

* * *

**7\. False Green**

_Morro tricks Wu into thinking he's the Green Ninja, which goes really well until the Overlord comes back._

"Morro?"

The ghost flinched and Lloyd took a step back. "Sorry," he said, "I just… wanted to ask you something."

Morro forced himself to relax. "Of course," he said. "What is it?"

Lloyd sat down on the log next to him. "What was Uncle Wu like?" he asked. "You said he was your father, and… I dunno, my dad didn't tell me much."

"Master Wu?" Morro hesitated. "He was… well, he was kind. He took me in when I was younger than you are now, eating out of his trash. And then…"

He wanted to badly to be what Master Wu thought he was. When Wu said he was strong, Morro tried to be stronger. When Wu said he was special, Morro tried to be more. When Wu said he was the Green Ninja, and Morro realized he wasn't–

He shook his head. "He was brave," Morro said, "and he worked hard to take care of me. Our first winter together, before he knew of my powers, he took me sledding. I still remember it."

Wu thought he was the Green Ninja and Morro wanted him to believe it for as long as he could. What did it matter that he used a spell to trick the Golden Weapons to reacting to him? He had trained so hard for this, surely he could be the one to defeat the evil that threatened Ninjago.

"What's sledding?" Lloyd asked.

Morro cracked a smile. "I guess you wouldn't know. It doesn't snow anymore."

The Overlord had burnt whole towns to ash. Morro, Wu, and Garmadon, with the rest of the Elemental Masters, had confronted him at the monastery in a final attempt to stop him.

"It sounds like he was nice," Lloyd said.

Morro still remembered the claws around his body, holding him up in front of Master Wu. The Overlord's whispered, _Tell him,_ and Morro looked into Wu's horrified eyes–

"Are you alright?"

Morro sniffed, his face discolored with the emulation of tears his body could no longer create, and wrapped his arms around his tattered, scorched body. "I wasn't the Green Ninja," he whispered. "I lied to him. I'm sorry, Wu, I'm sorry, Father, I wasn't what you needed me to be."

The Overlord killed them both that day, and yet, Morro was the one who came back as a ghost in the ruins of Ninjago. Why was he here? Why not Master Wu? Surely his teacher, his mentor, his father would be better equipped to find the real Green Ninja, the only one who could defeat the Overlord.

Lloyd hugged him.

"We'll find them," he said. "And then–and then you can fix this. I believe in you, too."

Morro managed a smile. "Thank you, Lloyd."

If only he could believe in himself.

* * *

**8\. Transcendent**

_Movie/Show blend where the six main ninja ascend to become gods of a new Ninjago; Morro arrives later. AU created by calypsolemon & guardiandevill on tumblr (I love U cal).  
_

The boy regarded him with suspicion and took a step back when he approached. "I haven't heard of a Master of Wind," the boy said.

His mother put a hand on his shoulder. "Be polite, Rhys," she said. "This man came all the way from Lloyd's temple. He's met the God of Life, did you know?"

Lloyd, disguised in his human form, smiled. "I have," he said. "But it's alright. Wind is a new element. I believe you would be the first reincarnation of the Master of Wind."

Rhys twisted his hands together. "So I'm… someone else?"

"Oh, no, no," Lloyd said quickly. "You are yourself, Rhys, reincarnations are simply… pieces of the same whole. You have your own life, and you can choose how you want to live it. I am here with an offer, and you are free to refuse it."

Rhys looked up at his mother, who smiled at him. "Go ahead," she said. "Hear him out."

Lloyd took a deep breath. "You are the reincarnation of Morro, Master of Wind," he said, "and you are welcomed into Lloyd's temple to train as his disciple. You do not have to make a decision now, and if you have friends and family here, you will be allowed to visit them as you wish, but the offer is and will always be open to you."

"Train?" Rhys said. "Like… to use powers?"

Lloyd nodded. "And to unlock memories of your previous self. You might have had memories before, dreams or visions you can't explain. With us, you'll be able to control them, and be around others who have similar experiences."

Rhys twisted a lock of hair around his finger, black with a streak of green. "I had a dream," he said. "Um, it was more like a nightmare."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"It was…" Rhys hesitated. "I was… alone, somewhere, and I could hear people screaming, and…" He shuddered. "I didn't want to be there, but I had to, and I kept thinking I deserved it, and that I deserved better. Was that a memory? Am I going to have more dreams like that?"

"You might," Lloyd said softly, "but you'll be around people who know what you're going through, and you can learn more about your previous incarnation. But as I said, it's up to you."

Rhys nodded slowly. "And I'll get to come back and visit?"

"Of course."

"I think I will," Rhys said. "Go with you, I mean. Um, I have time to pack, right?"

Lloyd laughed. "You don't have to leave right this moment. How about I come back the morning after next, so you have a day to tell your friends where you're going, alright?"

Rhys smiled. "Okay," he said. "Thank you."

* * *

**9\. Coinverse (Polycule)**

_Same as Coinverse, but Cyrus is dating three other people, giving Morro an even bigger family._

Morro stumbled into the cafeteria and swiped his ID card, barely waiting to be approved before grabbing a plate and filling it with whatever food was closest. It was late in the morning, and he had skipped having breakfast with his dad in order to lie in bed and mope. Hopefully, Cyrus had gone to work, and Morro could have a quick meal and go back to his room to mope some more.

He sat down at an empty table. Someone sat down across from him. Morro stopped eating long enough to glare at him.

Acronix smiled. "Cyrus said you were having a rough morning," he said. "He asked me to check on you."

"I'm fine," Morro said.

"Which is why you look like crap, right?"

Morro turned back to his food.

"Seriously," Acronix said, "we're worried about you. You know you don't have to go through this alone. Cyrus, Dareth, Karlof, and myself are all here for you. Pixal, too–she may be busy, but she's still your sister, and she cares about you. We all do."

"I just–"

Morro bit his tongue. "You what?" Acronix asked.

"It's nothing," Morro said. "I'm just depressed."

Acronix tilted his head. "About anything in particular?"

"No. My mood's just been really low, and I don't want to do anything but lie in bed." Morro moved his food around on his plate. "I'm surprised I made it out here to eat, but… Dad will get worried if I don't. Not that it matters when he's already worried."

"Not isolating yourself is a good first step to getting out of a low mood!" Acronix said brightly. "Finish your food, and we'll spend the day together."

Morro raised an eyebrow. "Just us?"

"Of course not. Dareth and Karlof will be there, and Cyrus when he gets out of his meeting." Acronix beamed at him. "There are so many wonderful things in this future. I'm forever grateful that you're one of them."

Morro's face turned red. Acronix laughed. "It's true!" he said. "I'll let the others know you need extra support. We all love you, Morro."

"Whatever," Morro mumbled, and he started shoveling food into his mouth so he didn't have to talk. When he was done, he put his plate away and followed Acronix out of the cafeteria.

There really were good things in the future, Morro thought to himself. He never thought he would have a family like this back in the Cursed Realm.

Now, with Karlof greeting him in a bear hug the moment he walked into the room, he wouldn't trade the future for anything.

* * *

**10\. Canon**

_Set when Morro returns to the Departed Realm._

"That's it?" Morro demanded.

Garmadon raised his head from the book he was reading. "Good evening, nephew," he said. "Did you have a good Day of the Departed?"

"Don't play dumb, you know what happened." Morro threw himself into the chair across from Garmadon and crossed his arms, glaring at the table. "Bunch of villains, including myself, got called back to Ninjago. I could've killed someone to take their place and never come back here, but I decided to be a good guy and warn Wu what was going on–and instead of being rewarded for it, I just get thrown back here!"

Garmadon closed his book. "Do you expect to be rewarded every time you choose the right thing?"

Morro grumbled wordlessly. "No," he finally said, "but it would be nice."

"I'm sure it would be," Garmadon said. "Do you feel any better?"

"No," Morro said immediately. "Wu tried to attack me when I showed up. I mean, I kind of teased him a little, but still! And even when he brought me to the others, they all thought–"

"You do realize you tried to kill them more than once, correct?"

"I know!" Morro snapped. "I just… thought I could be different, now, but I guess I'm still the same. What's the point of trying to be good, if I'm stuck the same person forever?"

Garmadon shook his head. "You have infinite potential within you, Morro," he said. "There are many people you can be, and they'll all be you. I know your life and time in the Cursed Realm was hard on you, but if you want to change, you can."

"And what if I don't want to change?" Morro shot back.

"Do you?"

Morro looked away. "I do, I guess," he said. "I want to do different things. I want to be good and have people like me, but… I don't think I'll ever be a different person. And every time I try to be good, I always think of everything I could do that's bad."

"And yet, you choose not to do them," Garmadon said. "You know, some would say that the very act of knowing you could be worse and still choosing to be good is what makes you a good person."

Morro slouched down in the chair.

"What kind of person do you want to be, Morro?"

He didn't respond for a few moments. Garmadon was about to urge him to respond when Morro spoke on his own.

"I want to be whoever you see in me," he said. "The kind of person you think is worth saving, even though we're both dead. That's all."

Garmadon smiled. "Oh, Morro, you already are."

**THE END**


End file.
